AI Readiness Assessment

What this replaces

Most organisations start AI governance with inconsistent checklists, ad hoc workshops, and scattered documents.

AI assurance expectations are rising across customers, regulators, and internal audit. This baseline gives you a defensible starting point.

Without a baseline, assurance conversations become opinion-led - and that is where avoidable risk and board discomfort shows up.

This toolkit replaces that with one structured assessment and reporting pack that gives you:

• consistent scoring discipline
• repeatable executive reporting
• clearer prioritisation than generic AI principles documents
• faster internal alignment without paying for consultancy discovery days

It is not a certification, audit, or legal assessment. It supports practical, audit-ready governance in day-to-day use, but does not guarantee certification outcomes.

How it works

Run the baseline (2-6 hours)

1. Confirm scope (organisation, programme, or department)
2. Run a short working session (typically 3-5 stakeholders)
3. Score each statement using evidence where possible
4. Review domain scores, overall score, and maturity classification
5. Capture findings using the report template
6. Agree priorities using the roadmap appendix
7. Present risks and decision asks using the Board and Exec deck template

Typical format:

• 2-hour scoring workshop
• 30-60 minutes to finalise findings and outputs

Refresh quarterly or annually (faster)

This toolkit is designed for reuse. You do not need to repurchase for refresh cycles.

• Re-score using the same rubric
• Complete the one-page quarterly update
• Maintain a single evolving Board and Exec deck over time rather than creating a new pack each cycle

Trigger an additional refresh if:

• a new AI system is introduced or a major model update occurs
• supplier, hosting, or data sources materially change
• there is a significant incident (security, privacy, model failure, safety)
• new regulatory, customer assurance, or internal audit requirements emerge

What you get (10 artefacts)

This is a complete assessment and reporting pack - not a single spreadsheet.

1. AI Readiness Assessment workbook
   Core scoring tool that calculates domain scores, overall score, and maturity outputs.
2. How to Use guide
   Step-by-step guidance for completion, scoring discipline, and interpretation.
3. AI Readiness Maturity Model
   Maturity level definitions used by the assessment.
4. AI Readiness Assessment report template
   Template to document findings and recommendations.
5. Roadmap Appendix (Appendix A)
   Suggested next steps based on assessed maturity level.
6. Licence and Use Notice
   Permitted use, restrictions, and IP boundaries.
7. Board and Exec slide deck template
   Executive-ready deck for risks, priorities, and decision asks. Designed to be maintained over time.
8. Quarterly Baseline Refresh Pack
   Cadence guidance, trigger events, minimum roles, inputs, and expected outputs.
9. Quarterly AI Governance Readiness Update template
   One-page quarterly update capturing what changed, top risks, decisions, and the next 90-day plan.
10. Refund Policy and IP Terms
    Refund policy, IP terms, and usage boundaries.

Outputs and evidence you can generate

• Overall AI readiness score and maturity level
• Domain-level scores with clear strengths and gaps
• A prioritised improvement plan based on what moves readiness fastest
• A leadership-ready assessment report for assurance and audit conversations
• A Board and Exec deck that translates readiness into risk and decision asks
• A repeatable quarterly or annual readiness update using the same rubric

Sample output preview (sanitised)

See the format of the outputs without exposing the workbook.

Includes:

• 1-page executive summary (dummy data)
• Sample domain findings page (dummy gaps and strengths)
• Sample roadmap snippet (example priorities)

Download sample outputs (sanitised)

Licence summary (plain English)

• Licensed to a single legal entity (the purchasing organisation)
• Authorised users include employees and individual contractors acting on your behalf
• Outputs may be shared with auditors, customers, regulators, and advisers for assurance
• Toolkit files may not be shared, resold, or reused as a commercial method across other organisations
• Updates within the v1.x version family are included. v2.0 may be offered as a paid upgrade
• Access to the toolkit files is provided for the life of the product. We recommend retaining a local copy

When this is not for you

• You want generic AI awareness material or a simple checklist
• You already operate a fully embedded and audited AI governance framework
• You want automated technical tooling rather than a governance-led assessment system